Method of making guide and sign boards



(No Model.)

W. A. McGOOL.

METHOD OF MAKING GUIDE AND SIGN BOARDS. No. 286,045.

Patented Oct. 2', 1883.

UNITED STATES PATENT Drrrca WILLIAM A. M oooL, or PERRYSVILLE, 01110.

METHOD OF MAKING GUIDE AND SIGN BOARDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 286,045, dated October 2, 1883.

Application filed June 19, 1883. (N model.)

i 0 aZZ whom-it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. McCooL, of Perrysville, in the county of Ashland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Method of Making Guide and Sign Boards; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap-' pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

This improvement has relation to a simple 1 5 and novel method of making guide-boards, signs for advertising and other purposes, and especially applicable to guide or indicator signs for road corners and crossings, railroad crossings, 850,, having for its object to so secure the letters or characters to the board that they cannot easily be lost therefrom, and whereby a much more durable sign is obtained, and the inconvenience and expense heretofore occasioned by effacement overcome.

2 5 To this end the invention consists in the construction and combination of the means substantially as hereinafter more particularly described and pointed out.

Referring. to the annexed drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan View of the sign; Fig. 2,a perspective view of a metal rest or anvil-platc by the use of which the letters are made secure to the board. sectional view taken on the line a; 00, 1,01? 3 5 the plate and sign, showing how, when in the construction of the latter, it is clamped to the plate; and Fig. 4.- is a perspective view of one of the metallic letters or figures.

Reference being had to the various parts therein illustrated, 13 represents a plate of iron or other metal having supports 1), which are illtegral and formed therewith by angle-bends in said plates, and in which,in conformity to said bends, are formed transverse recesses or channels 0. These supports, besides performing that function, are also for another purpose, to be hereinafter described.

The letters a are secured to the sign-board A by nails or rivets c,which.board, in the operation of securing on said letters,is held tight- Fig. 3 is a longitudinal ly to the plate B by screw-clamps 0, one pref erably to each side and at the ends.

D D are cleats, which are secured on the back of the guide sign-board the same space apart as the transverse channels in the plate B, and which are designed to fit therein, bringing the back of the board contiguous with the top face of the plate. These cleats prevent endwise movement of the board, and when the sign is completed they serve to strengthen and prevent the same from warping.

In the use of guide-signs on railroad-crossings and such like places it is desirable in the first instance to have those that can be made substantial, durable, and cheap, which, when '65 made as herein set forth ,will be accomplished; and also in the use of such constructed guidesigns that the danger of effacement of the letters is obviated, and in consequence is gained a large increase of durability.

The ordinary painted signs-heretofore used at stations and crossroads for the guide of travelers in indicating the name of the station or town which they may be traveling to or passing are greatly superseded, and the names y or characters thereon will last a much longer time, as they cannot be so easily effaced by the weather and missile-throwing by ill-dis posed persons.

The edges of the boards may be beveled off and painted with phosphorescent paint, or the letters themselves may be painted with the said paint, or the index hand or pointer, and thus in the darkness of night the guide-sign may be observed and the route of the traveler 8 5 indicated.

The operation of making my improved sign is as follows: The letters by which the names are formed are made of metal, and have holes cast therein by which they are secured to the go board. The board is placed over the metal plate or anvil, the cleats resting in the chan- .nel, as explained, and the board held tightly thereto by screwing on the clamps. The supports hold the metal plate sufficiently off the 9 5 bench to permit the clamp to go between the plate and the bench. The nails are then driven in, which, by being forced in contact with the metal plate, are bentor turned, and the points slightly re-entering the wood the letters are tightly secured thereto by clinching as will be apparent. The letters themselves may be cast or otherwise manufactured of various sizes, and may either be painted or not, or the board which is the background may be painted to give a greater prominence, either as desired. When the sign isfcompleted, the clamps are unscrewed audit is taken out and erected as is usual. v

Having described my invention ,what I claim The method herein described of making sign and guide boards, which consists, first, in forming a solid metal plate having grooves in its face for "the reception of cleats, and angular proj ections on its bottom ,which holds the body of the plate from the bench, then forming the guide-board with cleats on its back, then clamp ing the board to the plate, then placing the perforated letters properly on the face of the board, and then driving the pointed nails through the letters andboard against the metal plate,whereby the points are turned" up into the back of the board, thus securely clinching them, as set forth.

In testimony thl t I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. WILLIAM A. MCCOOL.

Witnesses:

O. E. DUFFY, B. F, lVIORSELL. 

